Lily Potter and the Ancient Magic
by Laytic
Summary: When Lily finally enters Hogwarts, something doesn't seem to be quite right. The magical properties of Hogwarts, stable for centuries, are inexplicably changing, the Forbidden Forest is getting even more dangerous and when Lily is learning her first spells, there is something extremely unusual about her magical abilities...
1. Chapter 1: Finally September 1st

_A/N: This is my first fanfiction. The original idea is 7-8 years old but I never finished it. I am rewriting the whole story, with this being the first chapter I have finished so far. As only the cores of some of my ideas are intact, it will take a bit to completely rewrite the rest._

 _I want to explore and expand on some ideas introduced in the main series, mostly on those details that were never really explained. As I have basically no prior experience to writing and posting fanfiction I would be extremely happy about every review I get, especially about constructive criticism. This first chapter is more of an exposition but I hope somebody will be interested in reading more._

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It was a fairly cool morning on this September the first. A little girl was sleeping in her bed, a strain of her red hair moving back and forth as she breathe. Nobody would assume anything out of the ordinary about this scene. However neither the girl nor the day could be called ordinary. The girl's name was Lily Potter, daughter of the famous Harry Potter and this would be her first day at school. A school that likewise was quite different from what other people would imagine, when they thought of school. After all, she would be going to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, an institution for children just like Lily, children with magical abilities. Of course, for Lily this _was_ perfectly normal. She had grown up, seeing people perform magic with their wands nearly all the time. Even she herself, despite not having a wand, had often been able to cause things to happen just by thinking of them. This was expected of children born into wizard families, however the frequency and potency of Lily's magic had apparently surprised her family. She was told, she'd surely excel at magic, when she entered Hogwarts. It would soon turn out if they were right, since this was the day, she would be going there for the first time. Starting from this day, she would soon learn how to cast spells, brew potions, and all the other things associated with being a witch.

As soon as Lily's dreams drifted away, a feeling of wakefulness filled her thoroughly. She opened her eyes widely, a smile of genuine happiness and excitement appearing on her face. _Finally_ , it was her turn to start her seven years of Hogwarts. She would soon be sitting in the Hogwarts Express, the train she had seen her brothers and cousins boarding for years now. Soon, she would be getting to be with all the other young witches and wizards. Only a few hours and she would arriving at the castle she had heard so many stories of. She would be sorted into a house – _surely_ Gryffindor, like the rest of her family – make a lot of friends and learn all there was to learn about magic. The anticipation Lily felt, thinking of experiencing all this made her unusually impatient. It was still early in the morning, she just noticed. Still, there was no point in even trying to go back to sleep, she was happy she even managed to fall asleep the previous night.

Deciding to make the most of the morning, she got dressed and left her room to see if anyone else was already awake. She made her way down into the kitchen and to her surprise she saw her mum smiling brightly at her. Her mother Ginny had the same red hair as Lily, a trait she shared with practically all the other Weasleys. However, the resemblance did not end just there. Lily looked very much like a younger version of Ginny – except for her eyes. She knew that she had them from her dad and looking through the photo album of her paternal grandparents, she saw that her grandmother's eyes were just the same colour as well.

Ginny turned to walk towards her daughter and greeted her with a warm hug. "Good morning, Lily, my dear! I suspected you'd be up early, so I wanted to make sure you'd have something to eat and someone to talk to on this special day!"

"Thanks mum!"

Lily was indeed grateful to have someone to share her excitement with. As they both sat down to eat breakfast, they began talking about Hogwarts and all the stories they had already repeated dozens of times, as well as some of the more recent exploits of her brothers and cousins. As the time passed, Lily's father and brothers joined them in their conversation, adding their own stories and anecdotes.

"Seriously, James, if you spent half – or even a quarter ‒ as much time with your homework as you do with roaming around the castle and the Hogwarts grounds or pulling pranks, I'd wager your grades would be on par with Rose's", Ginny complained, albeit with a hint of a smile.

"What did you expect mum, naming me _James Sirius_? That, in addition to the exploits of dad – I've got a legacy to fulfil," he explained. After a dramatic sigh, James added "I did not choose the burden that I carry with me due to my name and ancestry, however, as befits a proper Gryffindor, I accept my fate boldly!"

James comment paired with his melodramatic acting elicited some chuckles from the family.

"Speaking of Gryffindor – where is our lil' Lil' going to be sorted into? Now, I was sure Al was going to be a Slytherin but he must have ended up bribing the Sorting Hat somehow," James teased his brother.

"Hey! I didn't bribe anyone! Besides, bribing a hat makes no sense," Albus protested.

"Be that as it may," James continued, ignoring his brother and now focusing on Lily. "Lil', I've got to break it to you, you won't be a Gryffindor. After all, this whole family has been sorted into Gryffindor, even all our cousins. But every family has got to have a black sheep. You don't strike me as a Slytherin but maybe Hufflepuff? I guess-"

But James' attempt to upset Lily was suddenly interrupted by a noise coming from the fireplace. Standing there was Lily's uncle Ron, who was soon followed by his children Rose and Hugo, aunt Hermione and lastly even Lily's grandparents, Arthur and Molly Weasley.

"Sorry, we're a bit early, Hugo got too excited and got us all out of bed, so we thought we might as well come join you already", Ron said.

There were greetings and hugs as well as a few flicks of Harry's and Ginny's wands to enlarge the table and add more chairs so everyone could be seated. With the number of people increasing, so did the number of conversations. Lily was focused mostly on her cousin Hugo, who, just like her, would also start his first year.

Grandma Weasley soon took an opportunity to express her delight about the youngest two of her grandchildren going at Hogwarts.

"Oh Arthur, can you believe even little Lily and Hugo are already old enough for Hogwarts? It seems like yesterday that we had our first grandchild and now look at all of them – either in school or already graduated," Molly Weasley exclaimed, pulling her husband closer to her and looking at Lily and Hugo proudly.

Lily liked having her grandma over, although it did surprise her how emotionally invested she could be in each and every one of her frankly numerous grandchildren, when Lily sometimes had trouble even keeping track of all of her relatives. Grandma Weasley would always bring some of the food she prepared whenever she came to visit, to make sure everyone was well fed. This did not seem to go over too well with Ginny, who seemed to get somewhat upset at the suggestion she might not take care of her children well enough. However Ginny appeared to have given up on discussing the matter with her mother, presumably judging it to be a futile struggle against natural grandmotherly instincts.

Having finally finished their quite extensive breakfast, grandpa Weasley wished the children a great time at school, while grandma Weasley stressed the importance of being careful and keeping to the rules before also wishing them a great school year and then returning through the fireplace together. Everyone else started getting all the school books, cauldrons, and other necessities ready to make their way to King's Cross.

Lily had not expected the possibility that her excitement could increase even more but when they were walking along the train station, inevitably attracting the stares of those people who were not also about to pass through a stone wall, Lily could barely keep herself to a normal pace. She had been here before a few times, seeing her brothers and cousins off, but this was the first time she had her own trolley to push, with her own suitcase and school supplies. Her father wanted to relieve her of the task but Lily insisted on doing it herself, considering it an essential part of the first year experience.

When they came to the barrier between platforms 9 and 10, Lily could finally pass through with the knowledge that today, she would not need to go back with her parents, looking back over her shoulder longingly. No, this time she would also be sitting in the train just like James and Albus, just like everyone else had been before her. All it took was quick little run and she was there, at platform 9 ¾.

Lily quickly moved to the side to make space for the rest of her family to pass through. Her eyes immediately spotted and fixed themselves onto the scarlet train that would bring her to that place she had heard so much of but never seen. It took eleven, to Lily seemingly endless years before she could get onto it ‒ the Hogwarts Express. The platform was full of children ranging from eleven to seventeen, as well as parents and other relatives. Some were just saying their good-byes, others were greeting their friends and getting on the train already. While Lily would surely miss her parents, she was too eager to drag out their parting. Her parents of course had more of a struggle letting Lily go.

"It's going to be very unusual without any of you around now," her mum said. "Do make sure to stay safe and write us as often as you can."

"We're going to miss you, Lily. I hope Hogwarts is going to feel like a home to you as much as it did to me," added her dad.

Lily hugged her parents and got a kiss from both of them. As she boarded the train, Lily and Hugo still waited for it to depart so they could wave their parents goodbye. As the train had left the station, she felt thrilled about what was about to come. _This_ , she thought, _this will be the best year ever_.


	2. Chapter 2: Madeleine

Chapter 2:

 _A/N: I hope that you, who have found your way here, could spare a few seconds to write a review. Could be just "This was okay" or "This was horrible" but ideally, it would be great if you could tell me what you liked or disliked. If you don't even manage to finish the chapter you can write that too_

"So do you want to go find somewhere to sit? I guess we could also go sit with Rose or Al but they've got their own friends to talk to, so I think it'd be better to go find some other first years that seem alright", Hugo suggested.

Lily was still standing where they had been looking at their parents and waving. The smile on her face became even larger upon hearing what her cousin said. "You know what, Hugo? I think I just got a great idea – why don't we just go through the train and quickly introduce ourselves to everyone?"

"Wait, are you serious? Do you even know how many students there are at Hogwarts? And won't you feel silly walking along the train, opening the door of every single compartment and telling those people your name? I'm not really too keen on the idea..."

"Actually, I have no idea how many students there are. I'll just focus mainly on first and second year students. After all, it would be a shame to go sit in the first compartment that has some empty seats. Besides, I'd like to get to know as many people as possible anyway and it's going to be easier if they already know my name. Especially since we haven't been sorted to different houses yet. And I think it's going to be fun, meeting all those other students!"

"Well, okay then, you can go do your thing. When you get exhausted or too embarrassed going around talking to everyone, you'll find me somewhere in this direction," Hugo said while pointing away from him with his thumb, before heading in that direction with a little hesitation, looking back at Lily.

Lily had surprised herself a bit with her own idea. She had not thought about what she was going to do and she wasn't quite sure what to expect. However, the more she thought about it, the more she felt like it made sense to follow through. She knew she could deal with the occasional snide remark.

Starting with the front of the train, Lily looked at every compartment, opening the doors to those that contained students looking like they would be around Lily's age. She greeted them all with a beaming smile and some words of introduction. Most students tried to make space for Lily and invited her in. They would usually look mildly confused when she politely declined, telling them she would be going around, talking to the other first year students too. While it took some courage to bring herself to follow through at first, it got easier as she went on. It seemed to pay off just to learn the names of some of the students she would be spending her time with and see their reactions to her. Lily noticed that there seemed to be some naming trends in the wizarding world, since she counted the name 'Harry' three times and Albus twice, excluding her own brother.

Approaching the end of the train, Lily continued with the task she had set herself, trying her best to spot the younger students and making an effort to look away from those compartments containing couples of older students snogging. When she reached the very back of the train, there was one last compartment in which there was just one girl. She had straight, dark blonde hair that reached to her shoulders and brown eyes that were looking down at her hands. There she was holding some rectangular black thing, which Lily could not identify. The girl was moving her fingers strangely around the object. After tapping it repeatedly and apparently not getting the desired response, the girl adopted a look of slight annoyance and resignation. Lily opened the door to the girl's compartment, her usual smile mixed with an expression of curiosity.

"Hi, my name is Lily. I'm assuming it's your first year too? Do you mind me keeping you company or would you rather be alone?"

The girl seemed to be surprised by Lily's presence; she quickly put the thing she held in her hand into her bag and replied "Oh, hi, my name's Madeleine. I am, um, and sure, you can sit here, if you want to."

"Nice to meet you Madeleine. Sorry if I'm being too nosy already but what was that you were holding in your hand before?"

"Oh, that was just my phone."

"Your phone?" Lily inquired, looking a bit puzzled. "Oh, are they those things you can carry in your pocket and use them talk to people but also listen to music and all that kind of stuff? Can I take a look?"

Madeleine grabbed her bag to take her phone back out again, showing it to Lily. "You don't have one?"

"No," Lily answered, shaking her head. "We don't use a lot of muggle technology, though I've heard about those and they are supposed to be quite practical."

"Well, they usually are but it hasn't been working at all since I've gotten on this train. It's quite new as well, so I don't really get it. But wait – what was that word you used just before? Something with mug?"

"Oh, I see, you're not from a wizard family. 'Muggle' is the word we use for all the people that can't use magic. And I should tell you, you can forget about your phone as long as you're going to be here, most technology doesn't work with a lot of witches and wizards around."

"Really? Bollocks! I was supposed to write my mum. And actually, my father is a wizard. He just never bothered to tell me he was! He has barely even told me a thing about this school I'm going to now, Hogwarts. All of that because my parents, or I should rather say my father thought that if I got to experience everything about Hogwarts myself, without really knowing what to expect, it would be much more… _magical_. And I wouldn't even be surprised if he did that just so he could make that one stupid pun."

When Madeleine was starting to rant about her father, the annoyance in her voice could still be heard but as she continued and Lily seemed to find amusement in the story, Madeleine also began to see its humorous side.

After both of them had a good laugh about Madeleine's father, Lily's expression changed to a friendly but concerned smile. "Is that why you were sitting alone? You know, you don't have to be afraid of anyone here, most people are really kind and-"

"N-no, that's not exactly it," Madeleine interrupted her. "All of this is new to me, I wasn't told I had magical abilities and..." With a sigh she seemed to start gathering her thoughts while looking at the passing landscape through the window. "In a way I'm looking forward to going to Hogwarts but then again, I know next to nothing about the place. I don't know what I'm going to learn there and what else I should expect. Maybe I won't be able to handle it? I haven't been away from home for this long and I'm shy anyway. I don't know what to talk about with other people – that is, I usually don't. I'm only realising how much I've been telling you already. To be perfectly honest, I think haven't been talking to anyone as much as I have been with you for I don't know how long. I'm glad I can talk to you."

A beaming smile appeared on Lily's face "Everybody needs someone to talk to and I do enjoy talking to you, so I'm glad too. I'm sure you're going to love it at Hogwarts. I can tell you about it a bit if you want."

After Madeleine prompted Lily to tell her as much as she knew, Lily started to explain the basics, she thought anybody should know about Hogwarts, answering some of the questions Madeleine had as she went along as best as she could, having never been to Hogwarts herself.

As Lily mentioned the four houses and the Sorting Hat, the door to their compartment opened. It was the trolley lady who seemed to be nearing the end of her way through the train, asking them "Would you like anything sweet, my dears?"

Happy to get the opportunity, Lily bought two pumpkin pastries and two cauldron cakes, her favourites.

Madeleine looked at the trolley stretching her neck to see everything that was on there. "Um, is there anything else other than sweets too? Something like a sandwich?"

"Afraid not, my dear," the trolley lady said, closing the door when she took notice that Madeleine wouldn't be buying anything.

"Why are they only selling sweets here? After all this train ride takes several hours, doesn't it?" Madeleine asked, a puzzled look on her face.

"Good question. I never thought about that," Lily said, pondering Madeleine's observation. "I can give you a sandwich if you want, though. I have an extra one from my grandma that I won't need. You can also try any of those things I just bought, they're really good."

"If you don't mind, sure. Thanks. My mum surely would have made me something, if only dad had told her there wouldn't be anything else but sweets here. He really should have mentioned more about what to expect!"

"If you want to, I can show you how to send him a howler," Lily said with a hint of deviousness in her grin. "Howlers are letters that will scream your messages at whoever you send them to. At least that way, you could get back at him a bit."

Madeleine's face first showed astonishment, which was quickly followed by what looked like her taking a mischievous pleasure in the mere thought of sending that howler. "Sounds like a good idea. I think I'm warming up to that whole magic thing, there seem to be so many possibilities I haven't even thought of."

After some time they returned to the topic of the four Hogwarts houses, which Lily tried to explain as best as she could.

Madeleine seemed slightly confused after hearing Lily's explanation "I still don't quite understand what the point of splitting students into different houses is. And you're saying that this 'Slytherin'-house consistently brings out evil wizards, more than any of the other houses? Doesn't that seem alarming to anyone? Putting all those children most at risk of becoming evil together? Wouldn't that reinforce that cycle even more?"

Looking somewhat lost for words, Lily paused to gather a good answer. "If you put it like that, it does seem concerning. But my brothers told me the Slytherins now give the impression like they are quite different from what they used to be. They don't seem to be as elitist, absorbed in their own ideology and mean as they were before. Surely, there are still some bad apples in there but they say that even those Slytherins are hardly noticed because they have to give in to pressure from the other Slytherins."

Continuing the discussing of the houses for a while, they eventually reached the topic of their sorting. "You said that Hufflepuff don't have any special requirements right? I guess that's where I will go. I don't think I have any outstanding qualities," said Madeleine.

"Oh sure you do. You'll see. And even if you get into Hufflepuff that doesn't mean you have no talents or no hope. There have been some great people coming from Hufflepuff. Besides, I don't think anyone from there has ever turned to the dark side, so even that is quite remarkable."

Madeleine smiled at that "You know, as long as the people I'm going to be with are as nice as you, I really won't mind where I am sorted to."

Lily and Madeleine continued talking about this and that for the rest of the train trip, exchanging their experiences growing up in their respective worlds.

"So what do wizards and witches usually do before going to Hogwarts? I mean, you only start going there at the age of eleven. That's quite late," Madeleine wondered.

"Well, a few go to muggle school. But there are different reasons not to send them there. For one, it's dangerous because of the frequent use accidental magic and then there's the muggle records that need to be tempered with so they don't wonder why that child stopped going to school. So, most of us are instructed at home about basic thinks like reading, writing, math and such. I was too," Lily explained.

"And did you learn magic at home as well?"

"Some do. I wasn't taught any magic though and haven't used anything more than the wandless magic that all children display as long as they are able to use magic at all. My parents say I shouldn't use any magic before learning about it properly, in school. I only got my wand recently and even since then I've been listening to my parents and haven't attempted any spells yet – even though my brother James offered to teach me some."

Later during their conversations Hugo and Albus came to check on Lily and sat with them for a bit. Madeleine however seemed much less talkative with the two boys there, so they soon left the girls to be by themselves.

As the Hogwarts Express was nearing its destination, a prefect came by to inform them that they would be arriving soon and reminded them to put on their school robes.

When the train slowed down and came to a hold, Lily and Madeleine stood in line behind most of the other students, waiting to get out of the full train.

When Lily stepped out of the train, relishing a breath of fresh air, she could hear a familiar deep voice shouting "Firs'-years! Firs'-years over here!"

 _A/N: I hope this wasn't boring as it is still more of a set-up for what I've planned. Some more interesting things should be happening in the next chapter._

 _You read all the way till down here? Then you might as well leave a review! Thanks!_


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